26 Weeks!

Last Sunday, I had a sudden burst of energy that had me running around the house like a mad woman cleaning everything in sight. I don't know what got into me, but I had an unstoppable urge to clean. If it's this intense now, I don't even want to know what "nesting" is going to look like, haha. We also finished painting the nursery this weekend (well, H finished painting the nursery, I did some cutting-in and painted around some of the window frames). He did the first coat Saturday and the second on Sunday during my cleaning frenzy.The nursery bathroom and closet will probably be painted this upcoming weekend. We also need to add some additional rods and/or shelving in the closet. I'm still trying to figure out what the most functional solution will be as it's a small space and awkwardly shaped. This week I purchased an infant carseat (we went with the Chicco Keyfit 30 in the color graphite after reading great reviews online and in Baby Bargains) and I also got the carseat adapter for our stroller. We also ordered a mattress for the crib. We went with the Moonlight Slumber Little Dreamer Dual Firmness All Foam Crib Mattress, again, after great reviews online and IRL as well as it being a top rated choice in Baby Bargains. Hopefully it will fit snuggly in our crib. If you have this mattress I'd love to hear your feedback---or tell me if there's another one you love and recommend.

Another fun moment this week was attending my friend Nina's son's first birthday party. Nina blogs over at The HSS feed and she is a fabulous momma to little Jackson who is such an adorable little boy. The party was a lot of fun and there were lots of kids and babies there so it was exciting to see what we have to look forward to. The best part, of course, was the cake smash where Jackson played with the icing for awhile before he started to eat the cake---but after the first bite he definitely wanted more! Happy birthday little Jackson :)

The adorable birthday boy...

...and his lovely momma:

such a cute theme---blue, orange and mustaches!

How far along? 26 weeks (I do these a week behind as a recap of the previous week, so I'm actually 27 weeks today). Total weight gain/loss: I'm not sure, probably well over 10 lbs. now. I will find out at my 28 week appointment next week. Maternity clothes? Still wearing maternity pants and regular tops and blouses, though some of those are getting short and/or snug. I'll have to start breaking out my looser tunics and maternity dresses soon!Stretch marks? Nope, I'm continuing to use Belli's Elasticity Belly Oil, Mamma Mio Tummy Rub and Mustela double-action stretch mark cream in rotation.Symptoms: I'm still waking up to pee at night and have some hip/thigh pain from sleeping on my side. Other than that I continue to feel pretty good. I also noticed that I'm starting to feel a little more tired and going to bed earlier. My skin really broke out this week too on my chin/jaw area, moreso than any other time I can remember in my pregnancy. Totally normal, but just something I noticed.Sleep: I'm sleeping pretty well. Some nights I have a harder time than others, depending on whether or not I'm feeling any discomfort. I would say I sleep pretty well 4-5 nights a week though, which is great.Best moment this week: Painting the nursery! We also booked a 4D ultrasound which I'm exited about. A lot of my friends recommended doing this and said they really enjoyed the experience so we are really looking forward to it.Have you told family and friends: Yes!Miss Anything? Only sleeping on my stomachMovement: I still feel her a lot---one thing I noticed Friday was that it felt like she was "balling up" and pressing really hard on the right side of my stomach. When I lifted up my shirt I could see a round bulge right where I felt the pressure. Not sure if it was her head or another body part, but she is all over the place in there and I love it.

Baby is a: Girl!Belly Button in or out? Still in, but definitely shallower and more oddly shaped by the dayWedding rings on or off? OnHappy or Moody most of the time: Happy!Looking forward to: Our 4D ultrasound, my next OB appointment, continuing to get everything ready for the baby.Thank you for reading and for all of my pregnant readers, please feel free to check in below as well and let me know how your pregnancy is going :) I also welcome everyone's advice and comments about pregnancy!

While we haven't used them yet (due with a little girl on St. Patrick's Day), we also got the Chicco KeyFit30 and the same Moonlight Slumber Little Dreamer mattress. I had the car seat installation checked through a local hospital's safety program, and she was saying how it is really one of the best infant seats. We chose the mattress for the same reasons you did, and it fits really nicely in our Pali crib. The Pottery Barn Kids crib sheet I picked out is a snug fit, but I would rather that than it being loose. I think you will be happy with it.

I also have the Chicco keyfit! I only came across one issue with it is that the fabric is not very breathable. When my baby began crying during our drives, he'd generate a lot of heat, when I'd pull him out of the carseat his back would be drenched in sweat. My sister-in-law had the same problem, too. I did research and came across the Meeno infant carseat Liner. I ended up buying it, and I couldn't be any happier with the purchase! It helps wick away moisture and allows for some airflow.

Anywho, I've been following you for a while, and it's great to see pregnancy agreeing with you so well!

Enjoy having bursts of energy because having energy sure does start to fizzle out majorly as pregnancy progresses. I've just started feeling it at 33 weeks, I'm kind of walking around like a zombie nowadays.

Jacksons birthday party looked like so much fun! And what a cute theme!!

Those might be your Braxton-Hicks contractions, when you feel the sensation of her "balling" up on one side of your belly...I never even knew I was having Braxton-Hicks, I would always just think my son was balled up on one side like you, but it happened once at one of my prenatal appointments, and my doctor saw it and said it was a BH contraction!

Hi Veronika! My husband did a lot of research into crib mattresses and we chose one that was free of any type of fire-retardant sprays. Since their little faces are so close to their crib mattress so often we felt it important that our baby wasn't inhaling toxic fumes. It's hard to find mattresses that are NOT sprayed, but we found one at a Canadian online company called "the Mattress & Sleep Company". Just wanted to share the info we learned! :)

Hi Veronika ! This is the crib me and my husband picked for our angel Olivia. We love it she does too now that she's in her toddler bed she says its very cozy lol she's two now. hope this helps you :) Melissa

I had the Chicco Keyfit 30 and LOVED it!!! I had the car seat and the stroller to match. This was one of the best purchases I could have made. After my son outgrew it, I passed it on to my nephew who enjoyed it as well.

The 4D ultrasound was so fun, you will really enjoy it. It was nice to see our little guy again, and moving around. A much bigger baby at 29 weeks compared to the little one we saw at 19! Thanks for your comment today- I never worried about the labor much until now- maybe I should have stayed blissfully ignorant about the whole process ;) haha. As long as he is healthy, all will be ok.

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